When deciding what movie to review this week, my choices were the award-winning Spanish-language film Biutiful or the latest Jason Statham gun-toting assassin flick. And like any red-blooded American college girl, I picked the film that would show me a shirtless Jason Statham. And let me say, I was not disappointed. The Mechanic, a remake of a 1972 film starring Charles Bronson, features Statham as the oddly named Arthur Bishop, an introverted hitman with a heart of gold. Though predictable at every turn, this extreme man-movie achieves what it set out to and excels at what it is: a testosterone adventure. This movie was obviously made with men in mind. The only woman seen is either naked or half-naked, there are guns and fist fights galore and the central emotional conflict is about father-son relationships. Not too far into the film Bishop teams up with and trains the son of his former mentor (played by aging badass Donald Sutherland), giving the movie a bromantic side. Ben Foster as Steve is the perfect sidekick to Statham: He’s small, a bit geeky and perpetually hungry. His annoyance balances well with Statham’s aloofness, making them a likable pair.
The movie is a surprising feast for the eyes, from Bishop’s high-tech isolated New Orleans bachelor pad to his many globe-hopping assassinations. One of the more climactic hits takes place in our own backyard against the backdrop of the Chicago skyline. From the big spectacles, like falling from a high-rise, down to the one-on-one fights, The Mechanic knows how to do action. Some of it is even understated, which is quite a feat for a movie like this.
Where The Mechanic differs most from the average action flick is in its message. The whole story is told in metaphorical shades of grey. This is exemplified by the protagonist, a hitman who adopted a puppy to use as a pawn to get to a target but then found it a loving home afterwards. Instead of good guys and bad guys, The Mechanic deals with bad guys and worse guys. Just when you think you understand the moral compass of this film, it ends with the message being that there is no clear message. Though the film is not as fluffy as some other action movies and there are almost no explosions to speak of, any fans of classic man-movies from the pre-Michael Bay era will enjoy this fairly bloody and action-packed adventure.
This was originally published in The Current, a weekly supplement to The Daily Northwestern.
